Hugo Eugen "Ugo" Rietmann (26 August 1886 – 2 October 1959) was a Swiss-born, later Italian-based textile entrepreneur, footballer, referee and coach. Descendent of the Swiss patrician family Rietmann.
 Rietmann (centre) as referee with the captains of A.M.C. and U.S. Milanese, 12 October 1912. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hugo Eugen Rietmann | ||
| Date of birth | (1886-08-26)August 26, 1886 | ||
| Place of birth | Calprino, Canton Ticino, Switzerland | ||
| Date of death | October 2, 1959(1959-10-02) (aged 73) | ||
| Place of death | Milan, Italy | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1902 | Mediolanum | ? | (?) |
| 1905–1906 | F.C. Bergamo | ? | (?) |
| 1906–1907 | Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 1909 | Internazionale | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1914 | Italy (Technical Commission) | ||
| 1915 | Italy (Technical Commission) | ||
| 1920 | Italy (Technical Commission) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
A founding member of Internazionale in 1908, he made one competitive appearance as a midfielder for the club in 1909 before embarking on a refereeing career. He later served on three iterations of the Italy national team’s Technical Commission (1914, 1915, 1920), was a founding member of the Italian Referee Association and in 1949 was recognised by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) among the pionieri del calcio italiano (“pioneers of Italian football”).[1][2][3]
Club career
Rietmann was associated with early Milanese sides including Mediolanum and F.C. Bergamo and was on the books of Milan without first-team league appearances in 1906–07.[4]
A signatory at the founding of Internazionale on 9 March 1908, he played one Federal League qualifier for Inter on 24 January 1909 against U.S. Milanese (0–2).[1][5]
Refereeing and coaching
After retiring as a player, Rietmann became a federal referee. Between 1914 and 1920 he sat three times on Italy’s Technical Commission—the committee that, before the modern era of head coaches, selected squads and oversaw the national team—serving alongside figures such as Umberto Meazza, Vincenzo Resegotti and Francesco Calì.[2][3] Contemporary yearbooks and AIA histories also credit him among the participants in the foundational phase of the Associazione Italiana Arbitri (AIA) in 1911.[6][7]
Business and later life
Away from football Rietmann worked in the textile trade in Milan. He is buried at the Cimitero Monumentale (non-Catholic section) in Milan.[4]
Honours
- Individual
- Pioniere del calcio italiano (Italian football pioneer), FIGC: 1949.[8]
Legacy
Rietmann is remembered among the founders pictured at the Ristorante L’Orologio meeting that established Internazionale in 1908, and as one of the Swiss-born figures involved in the club’s earliest seasons.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b "Rietmann Hugo". StoriaInter.com (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Una ricostruzione storica conferma: l'inglese William Garbutt guidò per 6 gare gli Azzurri". FIGC – Museo del Calcio (in Italian). 16 March 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Italian National Team Coaches". RSSSF. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Hugo Eugenio Rietmann". Magliarossonera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "Archivio storico campionato 1908–1909". Inter-Calcio.it (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ Associazione Italiana Arbitri: 75 anni di storia (in Italian). Milan: Vallardi & Associati. 1987. p. 18.
- ^ "1911: nasce l'AIA". FIGC (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "Bollettino Ufficiale della F.I.G.C., n. 45 (18 Feb 1949); n. 46 (27 Feb 1949)". F.I.G.C. Official Bulletin (in Italian). 1949.
- ^ "Stagione 1908". StoriaInter.com (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "115 years of Inter: the rest is history". Inter.it. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
External links
